Catch Some Z's

Dear Lowdown:

How large of an influence does sleep (or lack of it) play in athletic performance?

- Harley Laubach (Chicago)

Dear Harley:

I’m sure everyone can agree that you feel better and can accomplish more after a good night’s sleep. You don’t have to struggle to keep your eyelids open. You can focus better at school or at work. You just generally have more energy. Without a good night’s sleep, every time you blink it’s a battle to wrench your eyelids open again and refocus your eyeballs. You stare at the white board or your computer, not actually accomplishing anything or absorbing any information to your under-rested brain. You don’t even have the energy to walk back to the train, or parking garage as it may be, to head for home at the end of the day. It’s exactly the same for athletic performance. If you get a good night’s sleep, you will be able to perform significantly better.

Imagine the sleepy athlete: a gymnast competing in a regional competition, getting ready to perform her uneven bars routine. She takes a deep breath, uncontrollably yawning, her mouth stretching wide and revealing all her pearly white teeth like a hippo rising from the depths of a pond for its morning stretch. She walks forward, a dazed look on her face as she blinks her eyes slowly, and performs a perky gymnast bow, popping her ribs forward and stretching her arms backward and up with a little flick of her wrists. She mounts the bars and begins to swing, back and forth rhythmically with a jump from one to the other every so often. In lolling rhythm she begins to feel increasingly drowsy, she blinks hurriedly, but that one extra blink is all it takes. She misses the bar on a flying leap and tumbles to the ground, spraining an ankle as it awkwardly collides with the semi-soft mat. One night of little sleep could cause this detrimental, crippling accident. A little sleep can hinder this and steer this unfortunate athlete to success instead of injury and embarrassment.

My sister can attest to the fact that sleep does help athletic performance. She often plays sports with her buddies at recess and informs me that after she gets a good night sleep she is better equipped to play. “When you sleep you can relax your muscles so when you do your activity your muscles are fresh so you can use them well. After I get a good rest, then I want to get exercise so I run a lot more during soccer on the playground and that helps me to get the ball.” Even the great skater Apolo Ohno agrees with my sister about the importance of sleep and said that after he got a good night sleep he could feel the difference in his performance, though I think he may need some work on his sleep schedule, as he’s constantly yawning at events.

Many studies have been done about the topic of sleep and its correlation to athletic performance and many of them come to the same conclusion. There was a test completed in 2008 at Stanford University in which serious swimmers were evaluated in order to record both their sleeping patterns and their athletic statistics. The swimmers kept their normal sleeping patterns for the first two weeks of the study and then for the next six to seven weeks they slept for 10 hours or more a night. After sleeping longer, the athletes swam faster times, jumped off the blocks faster, kicked faster, and turned faster. These swimmers performed significantly better when they slept longer and, in addition, they felt less tired throughout the day and experienced fewer random mood swings throughout the week. The participants also experienced “higher ratings of vigor and lower ratings of fatigue” (American Academy of Sleep Medicine). A similar test was completed on the basketball team at Stanford and similar results were collected.

At the University of Chicago Medical School, a sleep test was performed on young men between the ages of 18 and 27. At the beginning of the test, for the first three nights, they slept eight hours a night. They slept four hours a night for the next six nights and then 12 hours a night for the last seven nights. The U of C test showed that sleep deprivation led to glucose being metabolized less efficiently, therefore providing your body with less energy. Glucose and glycogen supply the human body with almost all of its energy. Glycogen is stored glucose that inhabits the liver and muscles, and sleep deprivation can lead to a decrease in the synthesis of glycogen. Additionally, during a period of sleep deprivation, your body produces more cortisol which is a stress hormone. This hormone relates to impairment of both your memory and your athletic recovery. Higher levels of cortisol in your body can hinder tissue repair and growth. This can be extremely detrimental to athletes because it can lead to injuries instead of increased strength. Also, endurance levels went down with less sleep and rates of exertion perception went up.

I can also provide you with some valuable personal advice because I, along with many other athletes, have personally felt the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation. I am a very active person as I dance six days a week. Some of you might be scoffing at this point, as many ignorant people out there believe dancing is quite simple and easy. Let me tell you, my friends, dancing is a million times harder than it looks. It requires endless grueling hours in the studio, both in daily classes and numerous rehearsals. It takes training and straining the body to work in positions that are unnatural and extreme: 180 degree turn-out at the hips, legs thrown to the ear, balancing your body on the tips of your toes. It takes great amounts of energy to achieve these twisted, severe movements and shapes with the body, especially after they must be performed after a long day of school and homework. After a night of good rest, say 8 or 9 hours, I always feel as if I can accomplish much more in the studio. I pick up the combinations better. I can achieve more difficult exercises with fewer mistakes. I glace at the clock less often. I can jump higher and lift my legs higher. All in all, everything at the ballet studio is improved when I’ve had more sleep. My suspicion about sleep having an effect on ballet performance is indeed correct as I have unearthed a study to support it. According to this study, conducted in Berlin, that happens to be posted on the U.S. National Library of Medicine website, a ballet dancer’s health can significantly deteriorate as they are deprived of sleep. I attempt to be in bed at the latest by 10:30 every night to make sure that my body receives enough rest to start metabolizing that glucose. For all of you ballerinas, and other athletes out there, I reckon it would be helpful if you followed my example.

Now that you are aware that sleep has a mammoth effect on athletic performance, let me leave you with a few essential tips to help you obtain as much sleep as possible and hopefully perform your best athletically. Firstly, prepare a sleep schedule for yourself and make it as important as the rest of your scheduled training. This way, you will make sure that you acquire enough rest. Second, before a crucial athletic event or competition, increase your hours of nightly sleep to prepare yourself. Make sure that you don’t fall into sleep debt and always keep a detailed schedule for sleeping. Finally, take short naps during the day to provide your body with as much sleep as possible. Remember what Apolo Ohno stated before the Olympics: “I’ve been training hard, eating well, and getting plenty of sleep. Well, I should say I’m trying my best to get plenty of sleep.” He obviously knows what the smart thing to do is. So to all you readers out there, turn off your TVs and computers and go catch yourself some ZZZ’s.

Sincerely,

Caroline Shadle


Bibliography
American Academy of Sleep Medicine. "Extra Sleep Improves Athletic Performance."ScienceDaily 10 June 2008. 21 November 2010 .

Chronobiol Int. "Sleep quality in professional ballet dancers." U.S. National Library of Medicine. 26 August 2009. 21 November 2010 .

Hatfield, Heather. "How to Sleep Like an Olympic Athlete." WebMD - Better Information. Better Health. Web. 31 Dec. 2010. .

Ohno, Apolo A. "Apolo Anton Ohno's Secret to Staying Healthy During the Games." Health.com: Health News, Wellness, and Medical Information. Web. 31 Dec. 2010. .

Quinn, Elizabeth. "Sleep Deprivation Can Hinder Sports Performance." About.com. 22 January 2008. 21 November 2010 .